Dragon Cipher Read online

  “Hey, Safyr!” Kat approached me with a warm smile and a hug. When she kissed my cheek, I felt my lips turn up in a real smile. She was one of my favorite people.

  “Good evening, Kat,” I greeted her with a foppish sort of a bow. “You are looking more beautiful than ever tonight.” I surveyed her dress with the familiarity that I was allowed as one of her closest friends. She wore a dark red gown, with a boat-neck front and a daring plunge in the back. Her shoes were nude-colored sandals that spoke to her interest in dancing into the small hours.

  “Oh, stop,” she snickered. “My friend here will think you really talk like that.” She gestured to her left, where another woman stood beside her. The newcomer looked as uncomfortable here as if she were a fish out of water.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Mentally, I shook my head at myself. I knew full well that I was staring, but I couldn’t stop it. Who the hell was this? She was the most beautiful, electrifying woman I had ever seen in the thousands of lifetimes I’d lived.

  Kat didn’t miss a moment of my confusion. She swatted at my arm. I knew she was trying to keep me from making a fool of myself. That was silly, though, because I never did that. Everybody around here knew I could be relied on to execute any social move cleanly and smoothly, in all possible situations. “Pay attention, you idiot,” she laughed. “I know you might be zoned out from all the beautiful women who come through here, but I want to introduce you to somebody special.”

  I nodded in thanks. “Of course. Sorry about that.” I extended my hand to the tall woman with the long brown hair and the startlingly bright green eyes. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Safyr, of Caerulean House.”

  The stranger took my hand with an odd mixture of boldness and reluctance. “I am Laurel. I do not make it a habit to socialize with dragons, but Kat has insisted that I come tonight.”

  For whatever reason, she didn’t seem bothered by making it clear that she didn’t want to be here. That was unusual. The few human women we invited here were always impressed and eager to enter our doors.

  I tried to make it less obvious than when I’d checked out Kat’s look, but I couldn’t help running my eyes over Laurel’s appearance. I told myself that it was because it was part of my job to make sure people were dressed to fit in. That wasn’t it at all, though. I could no sooner have stopped looking at her than I could have made an unexpected return to my homeland.

  Her dress was very different from Kat’s. She moved easily in a light blue silk column that clung to her curves in a way that made my eyes linger even more. The dress was simple, yet exquisitely cut, as if it had been made just for her. It did not show as much skin as Kat’s red dress did, but it held tight to the roundness of her breasts as if it wanted to touch her as much as I did.

  I took a breath.

  Trying to recover my aplomb, I sent a look of light censure over to Kat. As her hostess, she was responsible for having primed Laurel in the ways of this night spot. “Let’s not say ‘dragons’ here, hm? We really aren’t supposed to talk about the members of the club in that way. Of course, we do use that as part of our club moniker. But it is more of an ancient guild arrangement than a literal name. You know, like the Lions.”

  Kat was openly giggling at me. “Seriously? Is that the line that you’ve worked out for this moment? I never dreamed that when I talked Cobalt into letting a few local women get in as limited members, that you’d have to contort yourself like this to keep our secrets.”

  I glared at her. “They are only secrets if we all keep them, Kat. I did not agree with your suggestion that human women be allowed to join, but…” Belatedly, I realized that I’d actually used the word ‘human.’ It wasn’t like me to be so careless.

  I checked Kat’s face to see if she’d noticed my misstep. More to the point, had the beautiful woman by her side caught what I’d said? She was obviously one of these human women who now spent time at the club in the evenings. Only Miami’s richest and most beautiful young women were ever invited. Their presence had improved the atmosphere here, I could admit that now. But it was hard for us all to be so careful of what we said.

  The stranger chuckled at my unease. For the first time, she looked like she was having a good time. “I did hear you say ‘human,’ yes. But I’m already aware that you are all dragon shifters, so I’m not shocked.”

  “Kat, I know we talked about this,” I reproved her again. “You can’t go around drawing that much attention to us here. I am willing to agree with you that the new, female members are an improvement. I like the new balance; it’s now a gentleman’s club in the daytime, and a party spot in the evening. That works for me. But we’re still trying not to announce to the world that this is a dragon shifter club.” After all that, I finally looked closer at the newcomer. “Wait a minute. You’re not from here. Are you?”

  She shook her head mutely, enjoying the game.

  It dawned on me all at once. She was Elterian. How could I have not seen it?

  “You are an Elterian peasant? Here?”

  Kat looked like she was ready to break in to protect her friend. “Safyr, take it easy,” she warned. “Remember your manners. Things are getting to be different there now. Slowly, yes, but things are changing. I’ve worked hard to remind Laurel that she is in no danger from dragons, especially not here.”

  “Well, of course not,” I said. “Nobody is ever in danger in our club. That’s the point. All who come here are safe, no matter what. Even the dragons from the asshole Houses are free to come and go without me stooping to tell them what I really think of them.”

  “Well, that is reassuring,” Laurel answered. She meant it to sound teasing, but the quaver in her voice betrayed the fact that she was still worried.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I gave her a wide smile. It was becoming obvious that I had lapsed in my duties here if I was allowing a guest of Kat’s to feel uncomfortable. “Why don’t you dance with me? I’ll make sure that nobody bothers you in any way.”

  Laurel’s green eyes shone with surprising enthusiasm. “I’d like that. I may not be all that excited about being surrounded by dragons, but I do love to dance. Since Kat made me put this dress on, and these crazy heels, I might as well.” As she spoke, she extended a slim ankle to show off her sparkling silver sandals, I felt a surprising sense of dizziness. The straps of the sandal wrapped around her slim ankle in a way that I wanted to touch her too. When she set her foot down again, the heel of the sandal showed off her leg to perfection.

  Sure, I’d already noticed her perfect figure and her blue silk dress. My gaze returned to the way it lifted over her curves, lingering on the shape of her ass before slipping like a waterfall to the floor. When she had leaned over to show me her pretty shoe, I saw that her skirt had a long slit that allowed her to move. She did look like a woman who was ready for a night of dancing. If I had my way, it would be in my arms.

  Kat might have noticed that I was looking, but she held her tongue. I resolved to do her a good turn at the next possible opportunity.

  When I held my hand out for Laurel, ready to lead her to the dance floor, I was focused on just doing my job. It was my main purpose here at the club to make sure everybody was having fun. I spent my evenings laughing, circulating, and taking care of our guests.

  But as my fingers touched Laurel’s small hand, a jolt of energy passed between us. It was as if lightning had come through the wide windows of the club’s penthouse rooms and lodged itself in my chest. I couldn’t tell if Laurel felt it. She merely sent me a shy smile and followed me to the dance floor.

  She was an odd one. She looked harmless, but I had a sense that she carried stronger magic than any peasant I’d ever met on Elter. Of course, I hadn’t been there in so long. Maybe that was a new thing there.

  I knew it wasn’t.

  As I took her in my arms, enfolding her with just the right amount of gentle courtesy, I was aware that I was going to have to tread carefully with her. All I needed to do here was to
make sure she had a good time, and then send her on her way home. If she returned to Elter soon, then maybe I could breathe again. Maybe I would be able to forget how much I wanted to make her mine.

  If she went back to her own dimension and lived out her small peasant life there, without my ever seeing her again. then I would never have to admit the truth about what was happening to me.

  The truth was sinking into the pit of my stomach, even as we danced together, with polite smiles fixed on our faces. It was burning me up from within, taunting me with a life I could never have.

  A future that would never be mine.

  For I could tell, as plain as the moon in the Miami sky, that she was my fated mate. After all these years, she was finally in my arms.

  And after all these years, I was going to have to let her go without claiming her. I was the oldest dragon alive, and the one with the most secrets and sins to my name.

  I would never deserve to reach out and make her mine.

  And she would never consent to be the mate of a dragon, let alone one who had committed the crimes that I had.

  Chapter 3: Laurel

  It was like moving through molasses on a hot summer night, slow dancing with Safyr. The air around us felt heavy and tropical. The dark, masculine scent of the club, which had met my herbalist-trained senses right away when I’d entered, was actually his. How strange, that I’d thought I was taking in the aura of a whole room full of strangers, when I was in fact zeroing in on this one man without realizing it.

  I was acutely aware that there was something different about him, but I simply couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

  Well, to be more accurate, there were two things that were riveting about him.

  The first was that I was undeniably attracted to him. That was hard for me to admit, even to myself. When I had agreed to come to the club with Kat, it was mostly just to get her to quit asking me about it. I knew how devoted she and Cobalt were to operating this place, but it wasn’t my kind of thing.

  I had thought it was part of our agreement in my coming to stay, that I wasn’t going to be partying at their club, day or night.

  So when she did manage to talk me into coming along tonight, I knew that at least I was safe from feeling in the least bit attracted to one of these men. Ok, so maybe they were hot as fuck, and they were powerful and charming. All that. But I’d lived my whole life with dragons with those qualities threatening to kill me.

  It wasn’t exactly something that turned me on.

  Except, oh my desert snakes, it kind of was. But only with Safyr. Any of the other dragon men in these rooms could have held me close for a slow dance, and I would have been unruffled. I would still have been as cool as if I were dancing with my grandmother.

  I didn’t have one, though, since the dragons had taken every relative from me.

  Now, leaning my cheek against Safyr’s hard chest, I was feeling all sorts of heat that I wasn’t used to at all. I realized that I was actually snuggling against him. My cheek lay against his crisp blue shirt. The fabric was so soft that I knew it was very expensive indeed. It was clearly made just for him. Everything about the fit was perfect, from the way the shirt shaped itself around his broad shoulders to the clean line where it tucked into his dark grey slacks. And I’d already noticed how well they fit on his lean hips and firm ass.

  Somehow, the gentle smile on his face that met my eyes as I looked up at him, told me he suspected my thoughts.

  Mortified, I stood straight, keeping my body away from his. How had I even gotten into that position, where I was touching so much of him? Even the feel of his hand on mine was sending my head into a whirl of confusion. And his other hand on my waist...this was all making me limp with distraction.

  And distraction was the last thing I could afford right now.

  Because the other thing that I was noticing about Safyr was also unique to him only. No other dragon in all my experience had given off the same aura as he did. It confused me. He looked so young and vital, but of course that didn’t mean anything. It never did. They all looked like they were young men at their physical peak, no matter how old they truly were.

  What was different, though, was that I could feel his dragon magic as it brushed against my mind, and it was like nothing I’d ever felt before.

  He was from another time entirely.

  What I could sense about Safyr was that he was as ancient as the earth’s crust beneath the ocean all around us. He was like the very base of everything, not just in this dimension, but anywhere I’d ever been. He was so old that his existence formed the foundation of everything I knew.

  Ok, that was crazy.

  I looked up at him again, trying my hand at a little flirting. I wondered how he would respond if I batted my eyelashes. It wasn’t the sort of thing I usually did, but I thought I could pull it off. When my eyes met his bright blue ones again, though, he was openly chuckling at me.

  “Laurel, you are a study in opposites, did you know that?”

  “What do you mean?” I tried not to wrinkle my forehead with the effort of pretending that there was nothing unusual about him. Or the hard work it required for me to deny the savage attraction that was bringing my body close to his again. I knew just where his hand was on my waist, and all I wanted in the world was for him to slide it around to the small of my back and pull me against his muscular body. Once we were pressed against each other, I’d be able to feel the outline of every part of him, enjoying that intoxicating hardness that would...

  Safyr’s deep voice broke into my reverie, thank goodness. If I couldn’t get my mind out of the gutter, then how was I supposed to even remember my mission here?

  “You are a complex woman, are you not? I have not socialized much with the peasants of your time...I mean, with your town. I have been away from our world for so long, keeping busy with my work in this dimension. But I am quite sure that there is no other peasant on Elter who can wield magic as you can.” He smiled down at me, but there was a hooded quality to his gaze. He was flattering me, but I wouldn’t say that he actually liked me. That sent a pang of regret down my throat.

  “I prefer not to talk about my magic here,” I answered primly. “It is a serious thing for me, and I know you’ll understand that I’m not quite comfortable with dragons.”

  “It is hard to see things change, isn’t it?” He tilted his head as he watched me. “That is, I’m glad to see that dragons are no longer taking so many of your people, but making the transition to living together in peace in the long term is even more challenging than taking the first step, is it not?”

  I nodded, surprised. “You do understand. The other dragons of Caerulean House seem to think that the peasants will be quick to embrace our new relationship, living and working together. They think that if dragons can break free of their political system of Houses and create magic without stealing the life force from us, then we will be eager to accept a new future with them. But it isn’t like that at all.”

  “No.” He answered soberly, with a great weight behind his single word.

  “We have spent our lives in fear, always knowing that the dragons would come. There are no elders among us, for no peasant ever lives to become old.” I gulped, knowing I was allowing myself to say too much. “And here I am in this place, where I am expected to pretend that it never happened.” I lifted a hand from his shoulder to wave it at the enormous, opulent room full of elegant dragon men and human women. “I can barely take it all in, but it feels so very wrong.”

  In a flash, I realized that it was the richness of this place that was so overwhelming to me. Everything in the club was of the highest quality. The large rooms were located at the top of the building, of course. Each high-ceilinged space led into the next, in the style of a grand private home. The decor was stylish, but not trendy. Good taste underlay it all, combined with a bank account for furnishing that must have been nearly endless. Even in this world, where the dragons had less magic available to them tha
n on Elter, they made up for it by being wealthy beyond reason.

  Safyr dipped his head in understanding. “To be honest, I don’t think that anybody expects you to forget all that history. It’s just that nobody here can realize what it means to you.” We were still slowly swaying to the music, but I could feel the energy within him. It was as if he had a coiled animal in him, waiting to spring. Surely he had other things that he needed to attend to. Was he dancing with me so long merely out of courtesy? Even as I wondered, I knew I wanted to stay near him, keeping my skin in contact with his.

  “Safyr, I hope I’m not being rude by asking, but how are you able to stand being here in this club every day and night? The way Kat has explained it to me, your job is to keep everything running smoothly between all dragons. It sounds so boring.”

  “Like I would lose my own sense of self?” A slight smile played along his lips. “No, that is not a problem for me. I enjoy watching the dragons that come here. It gives me purpose to maintain the relationships between my countrymen. We manage to do much to ease political tensions at home. Nobody expects to be guided in that way here, so they don’t notice it.”

  “So it is true. You aren’t merely a mindless party host, smiling and shaking everybody’s hand, tossing back drinks all night long.” Too late, I realized that I had sounded insulting. “I mean…”

  Safyre laughed loudly, throwing back his head. With an exuberant movement, he closed his arms around me and lifted me from the dance floor for an instant. “That’s right. I do my best impersonation of an empty-headed bon vivant, but my purpose here is more complex than that. Keeping things peaceful between the dragon Houses in this dimension is my way of atoning for what I’ve done in the past.”

  I parted my lips to begin to ask him to explain, but he hurried past the moment. His voice came out colder this time, as if he was retracting some trust he had placed in me. Had he revealed more than he’d intended? “And it keeps me from wanting to return to Elter. I see enough of dragons here. I’ll never go back.”